Food & Drink

GET INFORMED ABOUT THE ISSUE:

A great place to start is Love Food Hate Waste. In UK households we waste 6.5 million tonnes of it every year, 4.5 million of which is edible. The average family of four can save just over £60 per month by reducing their food waste.

If you want to dig deep and read more, read the Wrap research report from 2020 here. (Wrap are the organisation behind Love Food Hate Waste and other campaigns.)

This interactive tool from the BBC lets you find out the environment impact of the foods you regularly eat. Have a play!

READ: our recent blog “Ten easy ways to cut food waste“, packed with practical tips.

LISTEN: to Caroline Wilson of Living Off the Cupboard in this special #CountdownToCOP Radio Verulam podcast talking about Cutting Food Waste

WATCH:

Start with this short film from the BBC (5mins) which gives a quick overview of the link between food and climate change.

Got a little longer? Catch up with these recordings of great talks and videos, created for SustFest21:

• Herts Waste Aware’s practical session “The Cutting Edge of Food Waste : Live demo, recipes, meal planning and why reducing food waste matters” (1hr 30)
• Making your lunches more eco-friendly, with local food columnist Becky Alexander’s: her speedy tips on “Learn to love your lunch” (4 mins) or the full webinar “Change the World in Your Lunchbreak – easy tips to make your lunch more eco friendly” (44 mins).
• “Cooking with the parts others throw out” from Delicious and Real (40mins)
• Danielle Durrant from The Cobbled Kitchen “Alfresco Cooking at Earthworks” (25mins)

FIND RECIPES AND TIPS:

• Lots of things that might otherwise be wasted can go into a soup. Try the BBC Good Food website for soup recipes.
• BBC Good Food also has a great section on leftover recipes.
• You can freeze just about anything. Try this guide to home freezing from Good Housekeeping.
• BBC Food articles on “How to cut food waste and save cash” and on “Are you throwing £s worth of soft veg and wrinkly fruit in the bin needlessly?”

TRY OUT FOOD WASTE APPS AND SITES:

You can rescue food from the supply chain using the Too Good To Go App. Buy a Magic Bag of surprise food close to it’s sell by date from grocery stores, restaurants and cafes, at about a quarter to a third of its original cost, or sometimes even better. 

Also, check out the Olio app where you can both share with, and rescue food from, your neighbours.

Try Oddbox for fruit and veg that doesn’t meet supermarket standards but is still perfectly edible. (It’s worth asking around for a referral code.)

FIND LOCAL GROUPS:

Search online for local social enterprises near you which are joining the movement to reduce food waste including Community Fridges, Food Schemes, and Community Cafes.  For example, you can become Bread Buddy for the Sopwell Community Trust, redistributing bread in the community. 

The Sparks Community Café in Hatfield often rescues food close to their sell by dates from supermarkets such as Waitrose, which can then be bought on a “pay what you can” basis, and sometimes is free.

Join local Facebook Group Living off the Cupboard, where they share recipes and ideas.

Try a cookery class from The Cobbled Kitchen.